Occupy Wall Street & Capitalism: A Professor's Response

[lordblazer]

You guys do know that he's getting paid by the Koch brothers? I was wondering why the Austrian economics?>

[THEarchlightning]

the people that are there are causing more problems than helping. They should all be told to leave and if they refuse then they should be arrested

[Peter4101]

Well he got part of it right. "Don't give hand outs." The rest well.... He could do with a bit of education him self.

[Silents30]

What is the product of Capitalism? Poverty and waste. These two things can never be eliminated from the system.

[gbortuhno]

@Silents30 wow, haahah, learn about capitalism before talking crap .

[Silents30]

@gbortuhno I know more than you. I am confident in that statement.

[Capitalism21]

Good video! Our channel and website has ideas about changing capitalism. Let us know what you think.

[JackofOneTrade567]

You can't constrain an entity that MAKES the laws. We've all seen how the govt wipes its ass with the constitution, what do you want, for the govt to make a law that specifically SAYS it has to obey the constitution? And when that doesn't work lets make a law that says the govt has to obey the law that says it has to obey the constitution.

[JTrizzleFizzle]

Government doesn't control corporations, corporations control government. The vast majority of Congressmen who resign, end up working as lobbyists or otherwise for large corporations. Does the government need to be fixed? Absolutely. But the main issue is the money being pooled into our government by those who want to take advantage of bailouts, laws, etc.

[etstop1]

Vote Ron Paul in 2012, the only man who will begin to dismantle the symbiotic relationship between the wealthy private interests and the government

[RaustBD]

@etstop1 ...And also overturn Roe V. Wade, tragically...

[etstop1]

@RaustBD

No he would leave it to the states. To be truly for liberty you must accept that there are people who believe life begins at birth. You must tolerate those beliefs with liberty by allowing states to choose. And besides..abortion is an issue distracting from much larger and important ones.

[RaustBD]

@etstop1 I wish I could believe that, but check his website.

[Uhateme100]

@etstop1 ...

[Desnigma]

First world problems

[117XImpulse]

Humanity is BS to begin with so the hell with all of us

[Alxjeffs]

Do not believe everything you hear listen and watch but be a judge for yourself this guy doesn't know everything.

[biguy617]

FUCK LIBERTARIANS AND THEIR IDEA OF LIBERTY!! PRIVATIZED GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WORK!!

[goldstardad1]

@biguy617 Prove it.

[biguy617]

@goldstardad1 Prove it? I don't have too. The privatized military by Halliburton and the other contractors does it for me. Diebold voting machines proves it. The Tennessee Fire department charging the people a $75 subscription fee proves it. There are many more examples.

[cooljj82]

@biguy617 All fire departments charge for service unless they are volunteer.

[cooljj82]

@biguy617 They don't want privatized government, where have you ever heard that?

[biguy617]

@cooljj82 "small government" means privatized government.

[Kingpapanewllama]

Loved it!!!!

[Jotto999]

God is not Great on the shelf. Good taste!

[mechadamuramu]

Also explain how Ford and GM going bankrupt helps American workers? The start up costs for a major car manufacturer are enormous, if we loose those jobs they'll go overseas and never come back. Yes there will be perfect capitalistic justice but at a larger cost than a $25B bailout that's been repaid. The banks on the other hand are a different story. =)

[cooljj82]

@mechadamuramu The start up costs will be high no doubt, but there is plenty government can do or stop doing to lower those costs. In fact European automobile companies have opened up some factories here because of lower tax burdens than Europe, allowing some kind of 100% tax break for the first few years would be a hell of an incentive to open up shop here.

[CurseOf94]

@mechadamuramu The only reason it matters is because of prior transfers of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy, including inflation. If you had reasonable access to credit, a good business plan, and some capital of your own, you could feasibly start a car company. Small at first, sure, but self-employment (when successful at earning even a modest living) is STRICTLY superior to wage-slavery and ownership by a greedy plutocratic institution.

[mechadamuramu]

Pure capitalism is like pure communism, it only works perfectly on paper. And essentially the Occupy movement is completely right just using the misnomer of capitalism instead of "crony capitalism". Besides highly regulating it with more big government there is no other solution. Isn't the proverbial fox guarding the hen house corporations regulating themselves?

[cooljj82]

@mechadamuramu corporations don't regulate themselves, the market, aka the people, buyers, consumers, clients, regulate them one way or another. If a company like goldman sachs is constantly making horible investments, people are not going to want to invest with them.

[cooljj82]

@cooljj82 Also, what is stoping these banks from just bribing government regulators like they already are? The revolving door won't change with more regulators it will just get bigger. more of the same.

[danielc121162]

Good video very concise to the point should be taught to every child before, during and after their 12 year incarceration ( public school)s

[MabusZero]

The American system is not a Capitalist one. Rather, the United States is the subject of a soft-fascism, a confluence of influence between the market and the State. These top firm are dumb, plodding dinosaurs and under Capitalism it would be Natural Selection. Let the market revalue the economy and these dumb, plodding dinosaurs would very quickly be gobbled up by younger, smarter and smaller firms that are better prepared to meet the needs of their customers.

[EvenStar303]

Yes but the potential for abuse is too great in capitalism.

That is how we got here.

Bending the rules will bring you to crony capitalism.

Why get hung up on all these isms?

Drop them all and let's just be decent and moral Human beings.

And the ones who don't want to, can go to jail.

Because they are the real criminals.

[StateExempt]

@EvenStar303 - And it is even greater under statism. But I do agree we should drop the current system in place and be decent people - while those who violate the rights of others should face punishment.

[oldschooldsl]

Ron Paul 2012 - The rooster should be guarding the house. The only person running for President who big banks, corporate media, and even those foxes don't want to win and fear is Ron Paul. Everyone else will eat chicken... All 99% of them.

[POPACHELLI]

Crony capitalism = Fascism.

[tanukibrahma]

The only way to earn wealth is by improving people's standard of living? How naive!

[StateExempt]

@tanukibrahma - To genuinely earn it, yes. You must provide a good or service that someone else wants.

Under government interventionism, this rule of thumb is of course violated.

[paunocu666]

Occupy Wall Street = Useful idiots

[marcatiede]

I fail to see how the occupy protesters got it wrong, when his explanation fits squarely with their ideology...

That "capitalism" billboard is not what occupy is about.

In fact, most occupiers just want the revolving door gone, must like he does... In my view here, him and OWS are both right and are saying the same thing.

[HaroldRehling]

@marcatiede It's the "Chicken or the Egg causality dilemma". The general impression of the OWS movement is that many of them believe Corporations have hijacked our government. We libertarians recognize it was government which created these Corporations in the first place.

There are many financial 1%ers who are not evil; there are few political 1%ers who are not evil.

[THEfromkentucky]

@HaroldRehling Government didn't create them, government removed the restrictions preventing them from existing in their current form after the tycoons of old lobbied and manipulated government to do so. 

[HaroldRehling]

@THEfromkentucky The corporation as we know it is a legal fiction created by filing forms with a State and the Federal Government. At no point in history has a corporation ever existed without a government charter.

If you can't grasp these two very basic facts then there is no point in carrying on a discussion. I can help to fix ignorance but I can't do anything when the ignorance is rooted in fundamentalist Marxist orthodoxy.

[Super1911Bobby]

Ron Paul 2012 !!!

[Dart563]

Why does this channel keep reposting the same videos?

[sestraux]

why does he always blame the government? just don't put your money in banks and there would be no problem

[tubo222555]

@sestraux

Because of the Federal Reserve, the banks are essentially a branch of government, not socialist, but fascist.

[PartiallyEnlightened]

@tubo222555 The Federal Reserve is a private institution. Nowhere near being part of the government. As the saying goes: "The Federal Reserve is about as Federal as Federal Express'.

[LucisFerre1]

@sestraux, did you know that more than half the nation's money supply is not currency? I'm guessing the answer is 'no'. Banks operate via fractional reserve banking. Be that ultimately good or bad, it does drive the economy forward.

[danielc121162]

@LucisFerre1 to expand on your statement it also drives it backwards and eventually right off a the road killing itself and anyone in the way

[whyyesyes]

America is NOT capitalistic...It is currently FASCIST!

Grow up.

[LucisFerre1]

@whyyesyes, I'm guessing that you don't know what "fascist" means.

[bjlayd61]

@whyyesyes I don't think you know what that word means.

[Silents30]

@whyyesyes Fascism last time I checked wasn't an economic system... 

[ginesdepasamonte]

There would be no need for this conversation if corporations/governments/socie­ty/whatever functioned as they were envisioned to function by their best-of-all-possible-worlds creators. But once the dynamic is left to interact with all of the other dynamics with which it must interact, the system and its problems become more complex. So too must its solutions be. This eliminate-cronie-capitalism-an­d-problem-solved idea seems facile and disingenuous. Pity, I generally like the LearnLiberty series.

[TheTrieye]

good

[doobersmanster]

Jesus is the only way to curb corruption..capitalism is the best system ever...cronism and corpratism is the evil things.

[LucisFerre1]

@doobersmanster said [[Jesus is the only way to curb corruption.]]

Christianity is not concerned with injustice, unfairness or immorality of cursing mankind for the actions of A&E. It's not concerned whether Jesus deserved to be tortured to death or whether it's moral for you to seek "paradise" via exploiting the torture and death of an innocent person who died for sin-crimes he didn't commit. Cracker 'god' says to worship him or be tortured yourself. I fail to see how this induces honesty.

[doobersmanster]

@LucisFerre1 Ok..Maybe you could read Pascal..Pensee;s..that might clear it up..:)..These christian concepts should be fairly easy to understand..even if you don't accept them. I think you have missed the whole point.Godbless you and your family..take care..Peace

[1tonykirk]

In the early 1900's, through bribery, John D Rockefeller had Congress virtually abolish the process of hearings where Corporations would have to prove their worthiness in acting in the Public's best interest before they were allowed to have their Charters renewed. This "NEW" CORPORATE LOBBYING is what led to MONOPOLIES. It started in New Jersey and Delaware. Soon all the Corporations followed suit. The "Federal Gov't" was h* J*cked by this process, starting with the Banksters and Big Oil.

[Alvamations]

Capitalism is great. I can sell any product or service and make all the money I want. If my product and service become more in demand then I start a business and hired people. So is not very business a pro-capitalism?

[throwerofturds]

its kind of shocking how naive the young are . i was kind of that like that but iv forgotten how it was .iv heard that george sorros was investing in the occupy movement . i believe he might have been . i wonder what any of those kids would say if they knew all about sorros .

[elporteroful]

If you are no longer for Capitalism, then what are you for?

[HaroldRehling]

@elporteroful When people complain about capitalism they complain about the system the US currently has. The US does NOT currently a capitalistic system, nor has it since, at least, the FDR years. As the professor says, the current US system is "cronyism" or, if you like, Corporate Socialism, Neo-Mercantalism, or Fascism.

[HaroldRehling]

@HaroldRehling I should say, "most people". There still are some wingnut Marxist-Leninist fundamentalists out there but they are just a fringe group with really loud voices.

[elporteroful]

@HaroldRehling But look around with the other Capitalist countries in Europe and the rest of America (I don't know exactly know what other countries use Capitalism). They're Capitalist and have the same, if not worse problems as us. They claim to be doing great, but what about the impoverished which supposedly make up 99% of the population? I think Capitalism is just a plan to eventually put oligarchs into power.

[HaroldRehling]

@elporteroful There isn't a lot of capitalism in Europe (or the rest of the world) either. Europe has never been anything other than Mercantilist; even when its welfare state apparatus still appeared sustainable.

Don't you think that giving government more power over the economy makes it more likely to become oligarchical than getting government out of the market? After all, what good is the absence of power to a would-be oligarch?

[elporteroful]

@HaroldRehling Hmm... I'll be honest, I haven't given much though to economic issues, yet. I've just heard about this group and their movement. I was just wondering what this group is really all about.

[HaroldRehling]

@elporteroful Oh, well that's easy. They're angry at the partnership between some Corporations and the Federal Government; same as the Tea Party movement.

And if you separate Economics from the constraints of Finance and consider it for what it is, the science of human action, it becomes, quite honestly, the most important of the sciences (social, physical, or biological) with which to be knowledgeable.

If you have time, read "Man, Economy, and State" by Murray Rothbard.

[elporteroful]

@HaroldRehling Interesting. I'll definitely be on the lookout for that book.

[LucisFerre1]

@elporteroful The impoverished make up 99% of the population? Are you on crack?

[elporteroful]

@LucisFerre1 No.

[grady1610]

A system based on greed is doomed to fail....

[hoshnasi]

@grady1610 If you feel that way, then all systems will fail. All systems can be corrupted by greed if it is allowed to grow.

[TheMidwestAtheist]

Continuing... To use a football analogy, that's like saying, "We're down by 5 points with 1 second on the game clock and we're at our 20 yard line. The solution is simple: our QB just throws a Hail Marry into the endzone and one of our receivers catches it!"

[TheMidwestAtheist]

Continuing, the second flaw can be discovered by asking, "Who put the fox in charge of the henhouse?" Well, it turns out there are certain wealthy hens who are paying off the fox. He actually addresses this, but fails to see how that screws up his henhouse analogy.

Mistake #3: This is less of a mistake than a failure to reveal a path. He says the "solution is simple," but provides no roadmap for us to get from A (where we are) to B (his "simple" solution)...

[TheMidwestAtheist]

Mistake #2: "The government is the problem, and therefore it cannot be the solution." He then goes on to talk about the fox guarding the henhouse and how different foxes will produce the same result. It would seem the government is the fox in his analogy. The first flaw here is that he assumes the government will always be a fox. I will grant that is an easy assumption to make based on our current government, but I find it quite pessimistic...

[TheMidwestAtheist]

Mistake #1 - "Under a system of capitalism, the way you earn your wealth is by producing goods and services which MAKE PEOPLE BETTER OFF." No, not really. That last part is not a requirement of capitalism. Granted, I think such a system would be more likely to be stable, which would be good. He is more correct when he describes the goods as "what people value," but what people value doesn not necessarily make them better off. People might value snake oil, for example...and a lot do, actually.

[commodore64fan]

i like this here video cuz they use all them big purdy words

[Dontwantlove]

Great video and a perfect analisis.. Keep up the good work!

[jameshalterman]

is it just me or does he look like mark ruffalo kinda?

[lector0003]

Interesting library behind him. at 0:40 .... 

[brynolf11]

Crony-what? Why not just call it Corporativism?

[theweirdguy1992]

@brynolf11 Crony capitalism and corporatism are pretty much two terms for the same thing, and are not actually true free-market capitalism

Wasn't this video already uploaded?

[HaroldRehling]

@brynolf11 Mussolini said that Italian Fascism was the merging of State and Corporate power. So, if we're to call the current US economic system what it truly is, "soft Fascism" would be the most applicable term. Cut off the influence of the State's monopoly on violence from the market and these failing corporations will become replaced by new firms who profit by appealing to consumer, not bureaucratic, wants and needs.

[yakyakyak69]

Crony-Capitalism is Orwellian Double Speek used to confuse Capitalism with Socialism.

This is Crony-Socialism made possible with Central Planning!

Those who use the term "Crony-Capitalism" are USEFULL IDIOTS!

[superclaydude]

@yakyakyak69 In pure socialism, there is no private ownership. what is discussed in this view cannot be described as socialism in any form.

[throwerofturds]

@yakyakyak69

this or that , its all words . i just call it corruption

[IronFury]

The only thing I can say negative about this video is the use of the word "crony capitalism."

Crony Capitalism is an oxymoron. Call it what it is, corporatism!

[throwerofturds]

@IronFury

i would rather call it coruption . and i for the most part dont have a problem with corporations ,, just corrupt corporations. and corrupt government

[IronFury]

@throwerofturds Except corporations are created and maintained by government in the first place. If you go to the source of the problem, aka government, you eliminate the problem of corporations.

[throwerofturds]

@IronFury

i disagree . corporations are created by people in business . unless we are talking a nationalized business in which case the government is the owner .

the real problem lies with the people . and as it is now approximately 47 % of the people are on food stamps . the majority of those people just want free money . and would not fight for their freedom . dont get me wrong its not as though i know how ,or who to fight for my "freedom"but nevertheless that is reality .

[NateMartin1916]

@IronFury Did government create Microsoft? Ford Motor Company? McDonalds? No, corporations are created when individuals offer a share of ownership in a potentially large venture to other individuals in the private sector. The problem occurs not when a failing corporation asks gov't to give it tax dollars to keep it afloat (cowardly), but when legislators acquiesce to award such a company for its unproductive behavior (weak). Companies fail because they are not wanted by the public. Let them.

[LucisFerre1]

@NateMartin1916, exactly correct. Crony capitalism is a failure of government, not free enterprise.

[ginesdepasamonte]

You are ignoring corruption...

[boxant]

@ginesdepasamonte Corruption will always exist, no matter the system. The difference is, that in our current corporatist system, corrupt people can harness the violence of the state, thus making their corruption all the more vile and harmful.

[ginesdepasamonte]

@boxant Corruption is the single most assertive point of complication. If, as you say, "corruption will always exist," then complexity too will always exist. These complexities corrupt the "straight line" dynamics of any system, and they exist in the corporate mechanism as well as in the state mechanism. and they even extend to the public. That being the case, response aimed at diminishing any corruption best comes from outside the corrupted mechanism. Weaken the response, fuel the corruption.

[boxant]

@ginesdepasamonte Corporations are state created, legal fictions, given state protection from liability in exchange for increased control (via "outside" regulation) and taxation. In a free system, individuals in the company would be held liable for their transgressions, unlike now where the corporation his held liable (aka the shareholders and customers).

[ginesdepasamonte]

@boxant It is along those lines that your mind and mine coincide.

[DrSpooglemon]

@boxant You don't have a Corporatist system in the US. I heard Ron Paul come out with that already. Corporatism is when the state tells the corporations what to do. Kind of like what they have in China ATM. The problem in the US is simply corruption on a massive scale. There is nothing in US law that allows for what is going on, it is just that the laws are not being properly enforced. Otherwise it wouldn't be corruption. The system is definitely NOT Corporatist...

[CrazyDave650]

@boxant if polititians made minnimum wage, the only polititians will be those that want to work for the people, obviously you would make it illegal for polititians to get paydays from big companies............. we need to take power back from big goverment

[boxant]

@CrazyDave650 As long as you have a government that can wield power of people, you will have those who seek to use that power to their advantage. Unions, corporations, welfare recipients, college professors, farmers, non profits. Everyone is pursuing their best interests, which is, to harness the power of the state in their favor. Not do so would mean that their competition would gain advantage over them. It's the whole "If you're not sitting at the table, you are what's for dinner."

[1984vs1776]

Great video. Something i've been trying to explain to people at Zuccotti Park since the inception of Occupy Wall Street.